Equipping the Church to Respond to Domestic Violence

Welcome to the faith-based portion of the Ananias Foundation’s website. Here we share ideas and resources to help Christian pastors and leaders address domestic violence and domestic abuse. While there are many secular websites that focus on these issues, very few provide guidance for churches, church leaders, and people of faith. Thank you for joining us to stop domestic violence in our congregations and communities.

Equipping you for the mission

Domestic violence is a huge issue with profound consequences on the individuals involved. It is found everywhere, across all cultures and socio-economic classes. Unfortunately, our church communities are not immune.

Even so, one of the big reasons pastors and church leaders cite for not getting involved in this issue is that they feel ill-equipped. They wisely want to be prepared so that their guidance truly reflects God’s heart and does not harm the parties involved. Maybe that’s you—can you relate to any of the statements below?

A couple in our congregation has domestic violence occurring in their relationship. We know how to help the victim, but what do we do with the one causing harm?

As we look around our community, we see domestic violence as a huge need for us to serve. What can we do without over-taxing our already stretched resources?

My seminary training did not address domestic violence, but I want to preach and teach on it. Are there resources out there that will help me get the message right?

We promise we haven’t been eavesdropping outside of your office. We’ve just talked to a number of Christian leaders, all who make similar statements. So we built this site to be a central resource for helping the church respond to domestic violence. Please let us know how else we can help.

Why and how should Christians address domestic violence?

We know that Jesus cares about injustice, hurting people, and brokenness. We also know he commands us to do the same. Remaining silent and leaving the problem of domestic violence for someone else misses our call. Are you looking for suggestions for how to get your congregation involved in this issue or expand the efforts you already have underway? We’ve pulled together some of the best programing ideas being used by churches everywhere. You can find those ideas here.

Helping victims

What to do with the one causing harm

Addressing domestic violence as an issue is one thing, and helping victims makes sense. But dealing with the person who is causing harm feels like too much for the church to get involved in. After all, what can we do? Shouldn’t we leave that responsibility to the authorities or the professionals? No! Click the button below to learn why and what you can do that will make a huge difference.

Theological considerations

Domestic violence can be a particularly controversial faith issue because it also touches issues like divorce and roles of men and women. Check out our collection of articles on theological considerations related to domestic violence here.

Faith-based domestic violence resources

Domestic violence is a big, complex issue and it can consume a lot of time and resources. Here’s another area where we can help. You and your congregation don’t have to do this alone. We’ve put together a number of handouts, programming ideas, and links to other useful information related to churches addressing domestic violence on our Resources page. There are also some great links and references if you would like more information about domestic violence in general. Find all of that here:

About the Ananias Foundation

The Ananias Foundation is the only Christian-based organization that specializes in addressing those who cause harm with a transformation process that is grounded in developing a relationship with God. If you’d like to learn more or contact us, you can do that here. If you share our vision for addressing domestic violence, you can also discover how we can work together to fulfill our respective callings.